Results of experimental research into the electroacoustic characteristics of composite piezoceramic transducers with overlays for marine ecology monitoring tasks

The results of an experimental study of the effect of the number of active piezoceramic elements (2, 6, 8) on the electroacoustic characteristics of broadband rod transducers with overlays in the frequency range of 12–35 kHz are presented. The frequency dependences of the active component of impedance (Rw) and dynamic capacitance (Cd) of three configurations of converters with piezoceramic elements made of CTBS-3 material have been studied by experimental prototyping and stainless-steel overlays. It was found that in the low-frequency subband (12–21 kHz), all the studied configurations demonstrate comparable values of Rw (~3000 Ω), whereas in the high-frequency subband (22–35 kHz), significant differences are observed: the two-element layout shows a maximum Rw = 8000 Ω at 29 kHz, and the multi-element configurations (6 and 8 elements) are characterized by significantly lower values (42–190 Ω) due to the phase effects of the interaction of the elements. The dynamic capacitance varies from +87 to –78 nF depending on the configuration and frequency. The scientific novelty consists in conducting a systematic comparative study of the dependence of key electroacoustic parameters on the number of active elements in composite rod transducers with overlays for the frequency range relevant for hydroacoustic marine ecology monitoring. The results obtained demonstrate the prospects of using two–element configurations for high-frequency applications and multi-element configurations for broadband monitoring of marine ecosystems.